The robots were built to serve Man; to do his work, see to his comforts, make smooth his way. Then the robots figured out an additional service--putting Man out of his misery.
Revenging himself brutally upon the sadistic Hyrkanian lord who vanquished his current band of mercenaries, Conan also rescues his misused mistress, Olivia, a princess of Ophir. Escaping across the seas that separate eastern Hyrkania from western Turan, they come across a seemingly uninhabited island, in which resides the ruins of court lined with life-like bronze statues of a race unknown to the barbarian.
"I am the last of my type existing today in all the Solar System. I, too, am the last existing who, in memory, sees the struggle for this System, and in memory I am still close to the Center of Rulers, for mine was the ruling type then. But I will pass soon, and with me will pass the last of my kind, a poor inefficient type, but yet the creators of those who are now, and will be, long after I pass forever..."
On the Earth of the future, cities are overcrowded and the elite have nothing to do but buy fame from people who really do the work. A faster than light drive is invented and Jed Cochrane, a television producer, seizes the chance to change the course of history and free the people who are willing to work for themselves and not be faceless proles.
What is desirable is not always necessary, while that which is necessary may be most undesirable. Perhaps the measure of a man is the ability to tell one from the other. and act on it.
In a secret laboratory, a team of brilliant scientists, led by Dr. Elizabeth Vinter and Dr. Sergei Lebedev, achieve the unthinkable: create a simulated universe that evolves from the Big Bang to the present in just fifteen days. However, what begins as a scientific experiment to explore the secrets of the cosmos, transforms into a disturbing discovery when the simulation begins to show signs of self-awareness.
It starts with cadet Roger, urm, nicking a study spool for use in a competitive exam -- but that leads all of our cadets into a fight, and when they're caught at that, a trial. In the midst of the trial they get assigned to duty on a Top Secret Projectile Project, and things go wrong there in ways at once related and impossible to connect. Someone is causing real menace to roost in the cadets' lives, and the worst is still ahead...
The computer seemed to work as it should. The speed was within acceptable limits. He gave up trying to see the ground and was forced to trust the machinery designed for amateur pilots. The flare bloomed, and he yanked down on the little lever.It could have been worse. They hit the ground, bounced twice, and turned over. The ship was a mess when Feldman freed himself from the elastic straps of the seat. Chris had shrieked as they hit, but she was unbuckling herself now...
Snow in summer is of course impossible. Any weather expert will tell you so. Weather Bureau Chief Botts was certain no such absurdity could occur. And he would have been right except for one thing. It snowed that summer.